of the Vandals, built with their own hands the primitive cathedral of Ajaccio. The present cathedral, dating from 1554 to 1593, owes its construction to the initiative of Gregory XIII, who while still Ugo Buoncompagni, spent some time at Ajaccio as papal legate. The see was left vacant for five years, during which time the diocesan revenues were applied to the building of the cathedral. It was finished by Bishop Giustiniani after his nomination. It is said that the cathedral was designed by Giacomo della Porta, but a guidebook remarks, "Se è vero, non era molto in forma." Napoleon Bonaparte's uncle Lucien (Luciano) was Archdeacon of the Church of Ajaccio. Napoleon was baptized in the Cathedral on 21 July 1771. Liturgical services are held according to the Greek Byzantine rite in the village of Cargèse, founded in 1676 by the descendants of the Greek aristocrat Stephen Comnenus (Stephanos Comnenos), whom the Ottoman Turks had expelled from the Peloponnesus. Bishops Before 1200 Evandrus : (313) Sede vacante Benedictus : (649) ... 1200 to 1400 ... Aimericus : (1309–1322) Vitalis Gracchi, O.E.S.A. : (1322–1342) Manfred de Calcinara, O.Min. : (1342–1345) Bertrand (Bernardo) Escharpiti, O.Min. : (1345–1348) Filippo de Ursone, O.Min. : (1348–1351) Vincenzo de Sassaro, O.Min. : (1351–1369) Simon : (1369–1401) 1400 to 1600 Petrus Corsus : (1401–1411) Marco : (1411–1420) Paolo de Albertis, O.Min. : (1420–1422) Andreas Didaci de Escobar : (1422–1428) Lucas de Offida, O.E.S.A. : (1429–1438) Valeriano Calderini : (1438) Rafael Spinola, O.Min. : (1438–1457) Deodato Boctoni : (1457–1476) Paolo di Bonifazio : (1477–1482) Gabriel de Franchi, O.P. : (1482– ) Cardinal Paolo Fregoso : (1482 – 1498?) Administrator. Filippo Pallavicini : (1498–1518) Giacomo Pallavicini : (1518–1539) Leonardo Tornabuoni : (1539–1540) Alessandro Guidiccioni : (1541–1548) Giovanni Battista Bernardi : (1548–1578) Cristoforo Guidiccioni : (1578–1582) Sede vacante Giulio Giustiniani : (1587–1616) 1600 to 1800 Fabiano Giustiniani, Orat. : (1616–1627) Ottaviano Rivarola : (1627–1651) Cardinal Giovanni Stefano Donghi : (1651–1655) Syrus Strassera, O.Theat. : (1655–1656) Giovanni Gregorio Ardizzoni : (1656–1685) Giovanni Paolo Inurea, O.Camald. (1686–1694) Giovanni Battista Gentile, O.S.B. : (1694–1695) Francesco Maria Sacco, O.Theat. : (1695–1697) Pietro Spinola, O.F.M.Ref. : (1698–1715) Agostino Spinola, C.R.Som. : (1716–1722) Carlo Lomellino : (1723–1741) Bernardino Centurione : (1741–1759) Benedetto Andrea Doria : (1759–1794) Ignace-François Guasco (1791–1793) (Constitutional Bishop of Corse) 1800 to 2000 Louis Sébastiani (de La Porta) (13 April 1802 – 9 December 1831 Died). Toussaint (Raffaele Sante) Casanelli d'Istria : (28 June